National

PORTLAND, Ore. - A federal appeals court has dismissed the National Organization for Marriage's effort to appeal an Oregon court ruling that allows same sex marriage.

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued its decision on Wednesday.

Several same-sex couples sued the state of Oregon last year arguing the ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum refused to defend it and joined the couples in asking U.S. District Judge Michael McShane to throw it out.

The National Organization for Marriage, which opposes same-sex unions, asked to offer a defense of the ban on behalf of its members in Oregon. But the judge ruled they lacked standing to intervene in the case.

The group appealed, but a three-judge panel dismissed their case in Wednesday's ruling.